Holiday Inn Express East Greenbush
Written: Feb 21 '04 (Updated Feb 21 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Location -- just minutes from Albany, major highways.
Cons: Hotel is nothing special -- solid, nowhere near spectacular.
The Bottom Line: This hotel is fine for a one or two-night stay while traveling, but I wouldn't go out of my way to stay here.
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| valentine_ed's Full Review: Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites East Greenbush ... |
It’s probably been 15 or 16 years since my wife and I went off and spent a night away from our children.
The last time would have been when my oldest daughter was about 10 months old, and we ventured to Lake Placid for a weekend while leaving her in the care of my in-laws.
Well, she will be 17 this spring and we have two other children now, as well – which, obviously, means we have little or no time to ourselves.
For the recent Valentine’s Day weekend we decided to treat ourselves to an entire evening alone – leaving my daughter in charge of her younger brothers.
We chose the Holiday Inn Express in East Greenbush for our romantic getaway not because of its posh accommodations – it’s not that upscale – but because while we wanted some time alone, we are not crazy. The hotel is within 10 minutes of our home, meaning that if any sort of emergency had arisen we could have gotten home quickly.
Briefly, the hotel is fine. It’s clean and comfortable, but nowhere close to ritzy or spectacular. It won’t leave you pining to stay there again, but neither will it leave you feeling like you never want to see the place again.
We paid $116 for a suite, and the room was comfortable, but not spectacular. It had a roomy bathroom, which I thought was nice since the bathroom in many hotels is about the size of a closet. It also included a cabinet stocked with soaps and lotions. The room was clean and had new carpet, which was nice except that the door kept getting stuck on the new carpet and you had to use your shoulder to push it open or close it. It can’t be that hard to shave an eighth of an inch off the bottom of the door to prevent that kind of annoyance.
There is a pool, though it is fairly small, and a hot tub. Both times we ventured into the pool area we were alone. There is also a very tiny workout room which included a stationary bike and two treadmills. It made me wonder why the hotel even bothered. The gift shop was closed when we were there, but appeared to have only magazines and a sparse collection of other items.
The only truly spectacular thing about the hotel might be its view of the Albany skyline at night, which was breathtaking from our 2nd floor vantage point.
The hotel does not have a restaurant, but there is a Bennigan’s restaurant less than 100 yards away and you get a 10% discount there by showing your Holiday Inn room key.
There is a free continental breakfast which, again, I found OK but nothing special. It included cinnamon buns and cereals, but no English muffins or toaster anywhere in sight. As one of those folks who desperately needs coffee in the morning, but is lactose intolerant, I was also deeply disappointed not to find non-dairy creamer available. That’s a pet peeve, because it forces me to use Half and Half if I haven’t brought my own creamer, and that upsets my stomach.
If you’re traveling and you need supplies, you’ll find two shopping plazas less than a mile from the hotel. One is anchored by Wal-Mart and includes a movie theater. The other is anchored by Target and Home Depot, and includes an Applebee’s restaurant. If you have young children, there is also a McDonald’s less than a mile from the hotel.
The hotel’s location is one of its primary advantages, as it is just off Interstate 90, which connects Albany to Massachusetts. It also gives you easy access to various points in Albany like the 15,000-seat Pepsi Arena and is about a 40-minute drive to the Saratoga Racetrack during the summer.
In all, I would say that if you are planning a one- or two-night stopover the hotel is just right. If you are looking for luxury, or planning a longer stay, look elsewhere. Personally, I would stay there again if my wife and I decide on another 'romantic getaway.' That, however, is mostly because the location is convenient for us -- not because the hotel is anything special.
The Skinny
Location: just off I-90, south of Albany.
Phone: 1.800.465.4329
Check-In Time: 3:00 PM
Check-Out Time: 11:00 AM ... Includes Rapid checkout -- just leave your key in the room and go.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
valentine_ed
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Reviews written: 5
Trusted by: 0 members
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